St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies

The St. Thomas Tommies are the 22 varsity athletic teams that represent the University of Saint Thomas, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. The Tommies are currently in their final season as members of Division III and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). In 2021, the school will move up to Division I and the Summit League, which will host most of the athletic teams.[1]

St.Thomas Tommies
UniversityUniversity of St. Thomas
ConferenceMinnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
NCAADivision III
Athletic directorPhil Esten
LocationSt. Paul, Minnesota
Varsity teams22
Football stadiumO'Shaughnessy Stadium
Basketball arenaSchoenecker Arena
Baseball stadiumKoch Diamond
Softball stadiumSouth Field
Soccer stadiumSouth Soccer Field
Other arenasSt. Thomas Ice Arena
AARC Pool and Aquatic Center
MascotTommie
NicknameTommies
Websitewww.tommiesports.com/landing/index

History

Varsity intercollegiate sports began in 1904, and St. Thomas celebrated 100 years of varsity athletics in 2003-2004. In 1920, St. Thomas was one of seven charter members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).[2]

Since 1973, when the MIAC became affiliated with NCAA Division III, St. Thomas has won more than one-third of the conference's 39 team championships, with 15 NCAA titles in eight different sports, as well as 13 NCAA team runner-up finishes, which includes three additional sports. Overall, St. Thomas has top-five national team finishes in 21 different sports.[2]

In May 2019, the MIAC expelled St. Thomas from the league, due to concerns about "athletic competitive parity." As Sports Illustrated put it, "St. Thomas is just too good at sports for the rest of the MIAC," which was causing other teams to consider abandoning the league and threatening its continued existence.[3]

On October 5, 2019, St. Thomas officially announced its intent to move directly from Division III to Division I, a move that had not occurred since the NCAA established Divisions I, II, and III in 1973, and that was specifically prohibited in 2011. Normally a transition from Division III to Division I requires a stop in Division II, an approximately 12 year process to complete. St. Thomas declared that it was requesting a waiver from the NCAA to allow the move, and also announced that it had been invited to join the Summit League, a Division I conference that was supporting the school's waiver request.[4]

On July 15, 2020, the NCAA granted permission for St. Thomas to move directly from Division III to Division I beginning in 2021. Already invited to join the Summit League, all but three of the school's 22 teams will compete in the conference that championed its move up. The football team will join the Pioneer Football League, the non-scholarship football-only conference with teams in New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and California. Men's hockey will join the CCHA[5] and the women's hockey team will play in the WCHA.[6]

Sports sponsored

Source: [1]

Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballCross country
Cross countryGolf
FootballIce hockey
GolfSoccer
Ice hockeySoftball
SoccerSwimming & Diving
Swimming & divingTennis
TennisTrack and field†
Track and field†Volleyball
† = Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor.

National championships

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW)

  • Women's cross country 1981

National Collegiate Athletic Association (Division III)

  • Women's cross country 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987
  • Men's cross country 1984, 1986
  • Baseball 2001, 2009
  • Softball 2004, 2005
  • Men's indoor track & field 1985
  • Women's basketball 1991
  • Men's basketball 2011, 2016
  • Volleyball 2012

References
  1. "The Official Home of University of St. Thomas Athletics". University of St. Thomas. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  2. "Proud Past Bright Future". University of St. Thomas. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  3. "D-III Powerhouse St. Thomas Is Getting Kicked Out of Its Conference Because It's Too Good at Sports". Sports Illustrated. May 22, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  4. "St. Thomas announces intentions to go Division I after getting removed from MIAC". Star Tribune. October 4, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  5. "CCHA Welcomes The University Of St. Thomas". Northern Michigan University. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. "St. Thomas can go D1; Minn. school was ousted from D3 league". Minnesota Public Radio. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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